• Sony Ericsson Open

Classy Henin sets up Dementieva clash in round two

Justine Henin's backhand was imperious against Jill Craybas © Getty Images

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Justine Henin made a dominant start to her Sony Ericsson Open campaign, seeing off a tricky first round opponent in Jill Craybas 6-2 6-2 on Wednesday.

Henin, who enters the competition as a wildcard after her period away from the WTA Tour, took just 28 minutes to clinch the first set, breaking Craybas three times as her scything backhand clicked into gear.

The former world No. 1 did concede an early break to her American opponent, but the mixture of sharp angles, intelligent court awareness and that irresistible backhand meant Henin always remained superior. The Belgian won 60 percent of points on offer in the first set, and a fourth service break in the fifth game of the second stanza set up victory.

Henin now advances to a mouth-watering second round clash with fifth seed Elena Dementieva.

In the opposite half of the draw, Patty Schnyder battled into round two with a 6-2 6-7(3) 6-1 victory over Katarina Srebotnik. Srebotnik's second serve held the key to the match, winning just one point in each of the first and last sets as Schnyder took full advantage.

Qualifier Sofia Arvidsson had little trouble in progressing past Italy's Alberta Brianti 6-2 6-4 on Wednesday. Neither player particularly stamped their mark on the game with their serves, but Arvidsson's confidence from the back of the court proved too good for Brianti.

In the men's competition, wildcard Mario Ancic was the first big-name casualty in the opening round, losing 6-4 6-4 to Frenchman Jeremy Chardy.

Ancic's current world ranking is a lowly 441, yet the fact that he used to be the world No. 7 says everything about how dangerous he can be when his fitness and game both come together. Unfortunately for the Croat that did not happen in Miami, and Chardy took advantage to set up a meeting with Sam Querrey in round two.

Richard Gasquet committed too many unforced errors against Olivier Rochus © Getty Images

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One break in either set was all it took for Chardy to see off his more illustrious opponent, with Ancic losing 61 percent of points on his second serve. Perhaps most troubling for Ancic will have been his performance when returning, after he failed to create a single break point in the match.

David Nalbandian, in the tournament on a wildcard entry, showed his class in pushing past Lukasz Kubot 6-3 6-2.

Kubot is no mug, as proved by his 11 victories in 2010, but you don't get to world No. 3 for nothing and Nalbandian dominated all facets of the match. The veteran Argentine won 82% of points on his first serve and crushing Kubot's delivery, taking more than half of points when returning.

Taylor Dent toppled top qualifer Rainer Schuettler 6-1 6-4 to progress to the second round. Dent is no spring chicken in tennis terms at 28, but he has five years on the evergreen Schuettler, although the German's resistance lasted just an hour as Dent earned and took three break points.

Richard Gasquet is also out after he was beaten 7-6(2) 1-6 6-4 in a shade over two hours by Olivier Rochus. The enigmatic Gasquet showed no obvious weakness to his game as he served consistently and remained a factor in the contest throughout, but too many unforced errors cost him in the final outcome.

Gasquet actually won more points in the match and broke Rochus on four occasions, yet he lost the match having only been broken twice himself. Rochus now faces Novak Djokovic in round two.

Baseline powerhouse Igor Andreev is through to the second round after he overcame arguably the most dangerous qualifier in the men's draw, Xavier Malisse. Andreev produced a clinical performance to snatch a break in either set, and that proved enough for a 6-4 6-4 victory.

Arnaud Clement was surprisingly dispatched from the competition on day one, losing 7-6(4) 6-2 to Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez. Clement was broken four times in the match as Garcia-Lopez clipped down nine aces.

It was a good day for German tennis, with Benjamin Becker comfortably through following a comfortable 6-3 6-2 victory over compatriot Simon Greul. Becker hit nine aces and manufactured three breaks to plot his way into the next round.

Fellow German Florian Mayer is also through after he was gifted a whole host of points by Marco Chiudinelli on his way to a 7-6(2) 1-6 6-2 victory on Wednesday. Chiudinelli coughed up 10 double faults in an error-strewn display, allowing Mayer to advance despite winning just three more points than the Swiss in the entire contest.

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